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Virus floors Russian-Chinese automated border

Thousands stranded in travel chaos

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Hundreds of Russian tourists were stranded in the Chinese border city of Heihe on Sunday after a computer virus toppled an automated border control system.

The border crossing was closed until Monday morning, stranding an estimated 2,000 Russians in the process, as a result of an unidentified malware infection, news agency RIA Novosti reports. Many of the affected Russians were obliged to stay in hotels. It's unclear how many Chinese people were affected, if any.

Normality was restored after the virus was deleted overnight, RIA Novosti adds.

Heihe, in north eastern China, forms a free-trade zone with Blagoveshchensk, which lies across the Amur River on the Russian side of the border. Locals are allowed to travel between the two cities without the usual visa requirements. ®